COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – With the 2017-2018 school year starting in about three weeks, the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is reminding parents to make sure their youngsters get their back-to-school immunizations before the start of classes.
Diseases that can be prevented by vaccines such as chicken pox, meningitis and whooping cough are being reported in the area.
The health department reported this week that Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is on the rise in the United States.
According to the Center for Disease Control, a preliminary count estimated over 11,000 pertussis cases in the past year, an increase of over two thousand from the previous year and the highest count in 30 years.
The health department wants to remind parents that the best way to protect their children and their families from diseases is to immunize.
Call your local provider to learn more or check out the health department’s website at www.bhsj.org.
